Meursault

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The relief of the Côte de Beaune extends over about 25 kilometres in a general northeast/southwest direction and separates the limestone plateaus of the Hautes Côtes from the Bresse plain.
• At Meursault, the face of the Côte shows an elevation change of about 150 metres, with a complex topography combining varied lithology and intense fracturing.
• The substrate combines a first limestone outcrop from the Middle Jurassic, formed notably of the Chassagne limestone and a "Dalle nacrée", with a second unit from the Upper Jurassic made up of a marly layer capped by a summit limestone ledge.
• The plots intended for wines eligible to bear the term premier cru are located on the lower part of the slopes, on moderately fertile soils developed on the Chassagne limestones or the marls of the Middle Jurassic.
• The cool oceanic climate results in moderate and regular rainfall of about 750 millimetres per year with no marked summer drought, and an average annual temperature of 10.5 degrees Celsius.
• The Côte, lying east of the Morvan massif and the plateaus of Burgundy, benefits from a climatic shelter providing a thermal advantage and a notable rainfall deficit, favourable to quality viticulture, through a foehn effect.

• In 1098, the Duke of Burgundy Eudes I donated to the Abbey of Cîteaux his vineyard located near the castle, giving rise to a Cistercian estate equipped with a cuverie that became the present-day Château de Cîteaux.
• In 1943, the French State recognised a list of "climats" eligible for the term "premier cru", corresponding to the named sites classified as first or second class in 1860 by the Viticultural Committee of the Beaune district.
• As early as the 1940s, some Meursault producers began marketing their wines in bottle, in France as well as abroad, which has become the main method of marketing.
• The vines of Meursault are planted at high density, in keeping with the practices of the Côte de Beaune, often exceeding 9,000 vines per hectare, and the wines undergo long ageing.
• Since 1923, Meursault producers have held a grand convivial banquet each autumn called the Paulée, a regional term for the end-of-harvest meal, where each producer brings bottles from their cellar to share for tasting.

• The white wines are dry, with a heady bouquet often combining a toasted character with notes of almond, and a smooth flavour enhanced by the acidity needed for age-worthy wines.
• The production of red wines, though minor, yields rare wines prized for their red-fruit flavour, notably black cherry, and for their freshness and finesse.

• The Meursault site offers a diversity of topographical and geological situations, and the white wines express, like the landscape itself, a range of nuances, highlighted by naming the climat of origin of the grapes.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Dénominations géographiques complémentaires

• Meursault ou Meursault Côte de Beaune AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Blagny AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Charmes AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Clos des Perrières AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Genevrières AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru La Jeunellotte AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru La Pièce sous le Bois AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Le Porusot AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Les Bouchères AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Les Caillerets AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Les Cras AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Les Gouttes d'Or AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Les Plures AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Les Ravelles AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Les Santenots Blancs AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Les Santenots du Milieu AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Perrières AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Porusot AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Sous Blagny AOC (PDO)
• Meursault premier cru Sous le Dos d'Ane AOC (PDO)

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF)
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — BIVB